We created the Skoolie Homestead Community in 2019 to provide a community of like-minded people seeking the nomadic, simple, and carefree lifestyle on wheels. We are Brett and Renee Niehaus, the pioneers of Skoolie Communities.

It’s amazing how life takes you on different journeys and chapters. For us, our new journey and chapter is our Skoolie Homestead Community located in Southeastern Georgia.

We used to live in the overpopulated county of Pinellas in beautiful Florida, where we owned and operated a successful free-roam doggie daycare and boarding business. We were chained to our jobs, 24/7, living the same day-to-day lifestyle. Although we loved playing with and caring for dogs every day and miss them all dearly, we felt we were missing out on all that life has to offer.

We watched a lot of YouTube videos and shows about tiny living and became very intrigued. We started going to Tiny House Shows, and one day at a show, we saw a converted school bus. After touring many buses at the show, we were hooked and knew this was what we wanted: to live tiny and travel freely!

After many months of searching, we finally found our perfect bus. We purchased it from a bus dealer in Florida. They delivered it to our home, and it sat in our backyard, where we lived and ran our doggie daycare business. Every day, we would sit in our bus dreaming of getting out of the rat race of the hustle and bustle of life.

We made the decision in 2018 to sell our doggie business, move to Jesup, Georgia, to build our dreams of becoming Skoolies! Once in Georgia and well on our way to converting our rear-engine 40-foot bus, we were chatting it up with others online who shared our interests and dreams.

We also found that many people had nowhere to build their buses. Many communities have restrictions on how long you can park a bus on your property or on the street, and many storage facilities do not let you work on your bus on their property. That gave us the idea to open our home and land to others so they could build their dreams. A community of like-minded people began.

Our community offers access to our large shop, stocked with all the tools needed to convert any vehicle into a home on wheels. We have saws, big and small, mechanics tools, welding tools, roof racking lift tools, and so much more. Our property also has an awesome outdoor shower and an outhouse with a flush toilet and sink. We also open our home for all to enjoy, with a beautiful screened-in front porch and hammocks for relaxation.